1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nozzle surface cleaning apparatus and a droplet ejecting apparatus, and more particularly to a nozzle surface cleaning apparatus and a droplet ejecting apparatus which apply cleaning liquid to a nozzle surface and then wipe and clean the nozzle surface with a blade.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a recording operation is carried out continuously in an inkjet recording apparatus, ink adheres and accumulates in the vicinity of the nozzles and blockages occur in the nozzles. The nozzle blockages greatly decrease the print quality and therefore in the inkjet recording apparatus, cleaning of the nozzle surface of the head is carried out periodically. The cleaning of the nozzle surface is performed by, for example, wiping the nozzle surface with a blade (wiper) (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication Nos. 2009-137156 and 2001-063076).
When the nozzle surface is wiped with the blade, there is a problem in that waste liquid scraped off by the blade drips from the blade and stains surroundings. Hence, the inkjet recording apparatus which wipes the nozzle surface with the blade is provided with a receptor (as in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-137156) or an absorber (as in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-063076) under the blade.
It is preferable to arrange the receptor or absorber over a wide range so as to ensure that waste liquid is trapped; however, it disadvantageously increases apparatus size.